The NBA is beginning the process of potential expansion. NBA commissioner Adam Silver was a guest on the Pat McAfee show Thursday and he said the league was ready to begin formal consideration of expansion.

The subject had been discussed more than a year ago, but Silver had said he wanted the league to work out a new television package and then see the sale of the Boston Celtics come to a conclusion before the process could be started. The NBA had its upcoming TV package in place at the start of the current season, and the Celtics were sold for an agreed to price of $6.1 billion. As  a result, the league can go ahead and start the exploration process for expansion.

Currently, the NBA has 30 member teams. It seems both likely and logical that the league will expand to 32 teams. The two cities most frequently mentioned for expansion are Las Vegas and Seattle.

Las Vegas has added NHL and NFL franchises, and the American League's Athletics are expected to begin playing in Las Vegas in 2028. Seattle became home to the expansion NHL Kraken in the 2021-22 season and the American League Mariners and the NFL's Seahawks are long-establish Major League franchises.

The other factor in Seattle's potential expansion bid is the city was home to the SuperSonics from 1967-68 through the 2007-08 season. That team moved to Oklahoma City and became the Thunder in the following season.

Silver explains why expansion is now on the table

Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault reacts against the Phoenix Suns during the first half at Footprint Center.
Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Related NewsArticle continues below
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) watches the game from the bench in the fourth quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder in game seven of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center.
OKCPD trolls Nikola Jokic, Nuggets with Thunder Batman meme
San Antonio Spurs guard De'Aaron Fox (4) watches from the side during the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Frost Bank Center.
De’Aaron Fox’s confident take on what’s next for Spurs

The NBA has avoided the expansion issue for several years, but adding a team to the Las Vegas market and returning to Seattle is something that the league will seriously consider.

Silver believes that the NBA has addressed many of its issues, so this is a time to study the subject seriously. “In terms of expansion, we try not to look at it every year just because we don’t want it to be too much of a distraction,” Silver said. “What I’ve been saying for the last several years, we knew we needed to get a new collective bargaining agreement done. We did and we needed a new media deal to get done and we did that. We’ve locked in our television rights for 11 years.”

The Thunder does not refer to the franchise's previous history in Seattle. As a result, if the league does return to the Emerald City, it seems likely that the new team could claim the name SuperSonics and its history.

Silver has said that he has long thought Seattle had a great basketball history. However, he could not guarantee that expansion would go forward — only that it will be studied.